I made these Japanese potstickers "Gyoza" for a dinner potluck on Friday. They were a hit! Great for a casual appetizer. They are savoury, easy to eat and will open up your guests' appetite for the upcoming meal.

I've posted a recipe here in the past but the ingredients I used this time are much simpler & easy.Vegetarians! Keep in mind you can also make these without meat.

Ingredients (makes around 25-30 potstickers):

Gyoza wrappers (you can buy them at a Japanese supermarket or an asian one. I've seen them in Wholefoods here in SF)

1/3 minced meat (I used turkey, I also recommend chicken or pork)

Chinese Chives (I bought these also at the Japanese supermarket), if you don't have them, use spring onions

(optional) Any other greens you like, like cabbage

1 tbsp grated ginger

1/2 - 1 tbsp grated garlic

1 tbsp each of Japanese soy sauce, sake, sesame oil

Steps: Please follow the steps on this recipe, I've provided step by step photos! Just make sure to pan fry them right before you are ready to eat them!

About This Dish:Japanese hamburg steaks are basically burger patties eaten without buns. It's a very popular dish in Japan, served in many restaurants/cafes/fast food chains and for dinner at home. Beef or pork is usually picked as the choice of ground meat, however I've picked turkey just for a more lean option. For an even healthier option, check out the tofu hamburg recipe or the chicken patty recipe I've posted. Various sauces are used; demi glace, ponzu, teriyaki, ketchup, etc. I've posted a super easy demi glace recipe so check that one out if you've got the time! People of various ages are seen eating this dish in Japan, whether it be children or a senior. You could even make a Hawaiian dish, locomoco with leftovers!

One important tip I have is to make sure the onion is cold upon mixing with the ground meat. If the meat is warm or hot, it causes the juicy fat of the meat to run away, making the patties soggy! :[

Serve with Japanese rice and plenty of veggies!

What You Need:(Makes 4 servings)

300g or 10oz of ground meat (I used ground turkey here)

1/2 - 1 onion

1 egg

5 tbsp panko bread crumbs

5 tbsp milk

Salt and pepper

Oil (I use organic coconut oil from Trader Joes)

1. Chop the onions up into small pieces and heat them up in a pan. Once cooked through, put them aside to cool them down whether it be on the counter or in the fridge. We want the onions to be cool/cold upon mixing with the ground meat!

4. Heat a pan with oil on HIGH heat and place the patties. Brown the surface of both sides.

2. In a separate bowl, soak the panko with the milk.

5. Once both sides are brown, put the heat down, pour in 1/4 cup of water and put the lid on the pan until the water disappears.

3. Mix the ground meat, cooled onions, panko/milk, salt/pepper and stirred egg together until it becomes well blended and sticky. Create the burger patties with your hands. I made 4!

Number of steps: 10 (...but very easy!)Time taken: 30 minAprrox. 150kcal per large patty.

About This Dish:Craving Japanese style beef hamburgs? I crave those, but I love these tofu hamburgs even more given the fact that they are super super super healthy, and easy to make! You can make a bunch and freeze them up too. How convenient can it be?

What You Need:(for 8 large tofu hamburgs)

1 firm tofu (They sell it most grocery store now!)

300g Ground turkey (1/2 - 2/3 of a pound, you can also use ground chicken)

1 cup Japanese panko (bread crumbs, they also sell these at the asian section of most grocery stores)

1/2 large onion

1 egg

Salt, pepper

Sauce

About 10 cm of Japanese radish

2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce

1 tbsp mirin

1.5 tbsp Japanese sake (or any wine)

Here are your ingredients, please ignore the chicken broth, I have no clue why it's there!

2. Get rid of the unnecessary water which of the tofu. I just pressed it hard until water stopped dripping.

Here's the tofu after crushing it thoroughly.

5. Add an already mixed egg, and ground turkey. Mix very well!

7. Using your hands, create the patties! I made them quite big as you can see ;)

9. Add 1/2 cup of water into the pan and close it with a lid! This will steam the hamburgs and cook it well inside.

11. As for the sauce: grate the radish and place HALF of it into a microwavable bowl. Add the soy sauce, mirin and sake and microwave for 2 minutes! Yup, that's it.